Digital video is a rapidly growing application of computer technology. However, there are difficulties associated with digital video. One of the most common difficulties is handling the large amounts of data since when an analog video signal is digitized into digital video data, the amount of digital video data produced is enormous, even for short video signals. To reduce the amount of digital data required to represent an analog video signal, compression algorithms are used. Most video compression algorithms reduce the amount of data required to represent the video by taking advantage of the redundancy between successive video frames (temporal redundancy).
The most widely used video compression systems are commonly known as MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 standards. MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 each define a compressed digital bit stream for transmitting digital video. The MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 standards are creations of the International Standards Organization's (ISO) Moving Picture Expert Group. (MPEG is an acronym for Moving Picture Expert Group).
The MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 digital video standards are currently being implemented in professional and consumer video products. In order to effectively market a consumer product that implements an MPEG standard, it is important to keep the product cost as low as possible. In accordance with this goal, it is desirable to implement MPEG encoders that use the smallest number of integrated circuits as possible.